S-palmitoylation of swine interferon-inducible transmembrane protein is essential for its anti-JEV activity

Deacylases-structure, function, and relationship to diseases

Reversible S-acylation plays a pivotal role in various biological processes, modulating protein functions such as subcellular localization, protein stability/activity, and protein-protein interactions. These modifications are mediated by acyltransferases and deacylases, among which the most abundant modification is S-palmitoylation. Growing evidence has shown that this rivalrous pair of modifications, occurring in a reversible cycle, is essential for various biological functions. Aberrations in this process have been associated with various diseases, including cancer, neurological disorders, and immune diseases. This underscores the importance of studying enzymes involved in acylation and deacylation to gain further insights into disease pathogenesis and provide novel strategies for disease treatment. In this Review, we summarize our current understanding of the structure and physiological function of deacylases, highlighting their pivotal roles in pathology. Our aim is to provide insights for further clinical applications.

ABHD16A Negatively Regulates the Palmitoylation and Antiviral Function of IFITM Proteins

Interferon-inducible transmembrane (IFITM) proteins are small homologous proteins that are encoded by the interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs), which can be strongly induced by interferon (IFN) and provide resistance to invasion by a variety of viral pathogens. However, the exact molecular mechanisms underlying this function have remained elusive. The antiviral activity of IFITMs from different species depends on S-palmitoylation at conserved cysteine residues. However, specific enzymes involved in the dynamic palmitoylation cycle of IFITMs, especially depalmitoylase, have not yet been reported. Here, we demonstrate that α/-hydrolase domain-containing 16A (ABHD16A) is a depalmitoylase and a negative regulator of IFITM protein that can catalyze the depalmitoyl reaction of S-palmitoylated IFITM proteins, thereby decreasing their antiviral activities on RNA viruses. Using the acyl-PEGyl exchange gel shift (APEGS) assay, we identified ABHD16A proteins from humans, pigs, and mice that can directly participate in the palmitoylation/depalmitoylation cycles of IFITMs in the constructed abhd16a^-/- cells and ABHD16A-overexpressing cells. Furthermore, we showed that ABHD16A functions as a regulator of subcellular localization of IFITM proteins and is related to the immune system. It is tempting to suggest that pharmacological intervention in IFITMs and ABHD16A can be achieved either through controlling their expression or regulating their activity, thereby providing a broad-spectrum therapeutic strategy for animal viral diseases. IMPORTANCE IFITM protein is the cells first line of antiviral defense that blocks early stages of viral replication; the underlying mechanism might be associated with the proper distribution in cells. The palmitoylation/depalmitoylation cycle can dynamically regulate protein localization, stability, and function. This work is the first one that found the critical enzyme that participates in the palmitoylation/depalmitoylation cycle of IFITM, and this type of palmitoyl loss may be an essential regulation mode for balancing the antiviral functions of the IFN pathway. These findings imply that the pharmacological intervention in IFITM and ABHD16A, either through controlling their expression or regulating their activities, could provide a broad-spectrum therapeutic strategy for animal viral diseases and complications linked to interferon elevation.

Chicken interferon-induced transmembrane protein 1 promotes replication of coronavirus infectious bronchitis virus in a cell-specific manner

Interferon-induced transmembrane proteins (IFITMs) are broad-spectrum antiviral proteins that inhibit numerous virus infections by impeding viral entry into target cells. However, increasing evidence suggests diverse functions of IFITMs in virus infection, especially with the coronavirus. We analyzed the effect of chicken interferon-induced transmembrane proteins (chIFITMs) on coronavirus infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) infection in vitro. We demonstrated that the antiviral effects of IFITMs are dependent on cell and virus types. The overexpression of chIFITM1 dramatically promoted the replication of IBV Beaudette strain in the chicken hepatocellular carcinoma cell line, LMH. Mechanistically, chIFITMs share roughly the same subcellular localization in different host cells, and overexpressed of chIFITM1 have no effect of viral attachment and entry. Further studies revealed that mutations of amino acids at key positions (60KSRD63, 68KDFV71) in the intracellular loop domain (CIL) caused loss of the promoted function. Interaction with downstream proteins in co-response to viral infection could be the primary reason behind variable functions of chIFITM1 in different cells. In all, our study explored the functions of chIFITMs in viral infection from a new perspective.

Positive Regulation of the Antiviral Activity of Interferon-Induced Transmembrane Protein 3 by S-Palmitoylation

The interferon-induced transmembrane protein 3 (IFITM3), a small molecule transmembrane protein induced by interferon, is generally conserved in vertebrates, which can inhibit infection by a diverse range of pathogenic viruses such as influenza virus. However, the precise antiviral mechanisms of IFITM3 remain unclear. At least four post-translational modifications (PTMs) were found to modulate the antiviral effect of IFITM3. These include positive regulation provided by S-palmitoylation of cysteine and negative regulation provided by lysine ubiquitination, lysine methylation, and tyrosine phosphorylation. IFITM3 S-palmitoylation is an enzymatic addition of a 16-carbon fatty acid on the three cysteine residues within or adjacent to its two hydrophobic domains at positions 71, 72, and 105, that is essential for its proper targeting, stability, and function. As S-palmitoylation is the only PTM known to enhance the antiviral activity of IFITM3, enzymes that add this modification may play important roles in IFN-induced immune responses. This study mainly reviews the research progresses on the antiviral mechanism of IFITM3, the regulation mechanism of S-palmitoylation modification on its subcellular localization, stability, and function, and the enzymes that mediate the S-palmitoylation modification of IFITM3, which may help elucidate the mechanism by which this IFN effector restrict virus replication and thus aid in the design of therapeutics targeted at pathogenic viruses.

Protein Palmitoylation Modification During Viral Infection and Detection Methods of Palmitoylated Proteins

Protein palmitoylation—a lipid modification in which one or more cysteine thiols on a substrate protein are modified to form a thioester with a palmitoyl group—is a significant post-translational biological process. This process regulates the trafficking, subcellular localization, and stability of different proteins in cells. Since palmitoylation participates in various biological processes, it is related to the occurrence and development of multiple diseases. It has been well evidenced that the proteins whose functions are palmitoylation-dependent or directly involved in key proteins’ palmitoylation/depalmitoylation cycle may be a potential source of novel therapeutic drugs for the related diseases. Many researchers have reported palmitoylation of proteins, which are crucial for host-virus interactions during viral infection. Quite a few explorations have focused on figuring out whether targeting the acylation of viral or host proteins might be a strategy to combat viral diseases. All these remarkable achievements in protein palmitoylation have been made to technological advances. This paper gives an overview of protein palmitoylation modification during viral infection and the methods for palmitoylated protein detection. Future challenges and potential developments are proposed.

Functional Heterogeneity of Mammalian IFITM Proteins against HIV-1

Interferon-induced transmembrane proteins (IFITMs) are a family of interferon-inducible proteins that inhibit a broad range of viruses by interfering with viral-to-cellular membrane fusion. The antiviral activity of IFITMs is highly regulated by several posttranslational modifications and by a number of protein domains that modulate steady-state protein levels, trafficking, and antiviral effectiveness. Taking advantage of the natural diversity existing among IFITMs of different animal species, we have compared 21 IFITMs for their ability to inhibit HIV-1 at two steps, during virus entry into cells (target cell protection) and during the production of novel virion particles (negative imprinting of virion particles' infectivity). We found a high functional heterogeneity among IFITM homologs with respect to both antiviral modalities, with IFITM members that exhibit enhanced viral inhibition, while others have no ability to block HIV-1. These differences could not be ascribed to known regulatory domains and could only be partially explained through differential protein stability, implying the existence of additional mechanisms. Through the use of chimeras between active and inactive IFITMs, we demonstrate that the cross talk between distinct domains of IFITMs is an important contributor of their antiviral potency. Finally, we identified murine IFITMs as natural variants competent for target cell protection, but not for negative imprinting of virion particles' infectivity, suggesting that the two properties may, at least in principle, be uncoupled. Overall, our results shed new light on the complex relationship between IFITMs and viral infection and point to the cross talk between IFITM domains as a novel layer of regulation of their activity. IMPORTANCE IFITMs are broad viral inhibitors capable of interfering with both early and late phases of the replicative cycle of many different viruses. By comparing 21 IFITM proteins issued from different animal species for their ability to inhibit HIV-1, we have identified several that exhibit either enhanced or impaired antiviral behavior. This functional diversity is not driven by differences in known domains and can only be partly explained through differential protein stability. Chimeras between active and inactive IFITMs point to the cross talk between individual IFITM domains as important for optimal antiviral activity. Finally, we show that murine IFITMs are not capable of decreasing the infectivity of newly produced HIV-1 virion particles, although they retain target cell protection abilities, suggesting that these properties may be, in principle, disconnected. Overall, our results shed new light on the complex layers of regulation of IFITM proteins and enrich our current understanding of these broad antiviral factors.